Because all three audiences inappropriately found the morgue scene hilarious, the film's release was delayed six months so that a new beginning could be shot. A few years later, Stephen Sondheim became interested in writing a musical version of his own, working with writer Burt Shevelove (with whom he ended up writing A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum). Sunset Boulevard told an old familiar story. When Norma Desmond says to the guard at the "Paramount Studio" gates, "Without me there wouldn't be any 'Paramount Studio'" the words could apply to Gloria Swanson herself, as she was the studio's top star for six years running. Holden, just 63 when he died, had most recently appeared in the Blake Edwards' film "S.O.B." Among the many past associations embedded in Sunset Blvd. Hola, identifcate . Norma's "gondola bed" was originally white, and was featured in Twentieth Century (1934) with Carole Lombard and John Barrymore. Two years later, he was praised for his Oscar-nominated leading performance in Sidney Lumet's classic Network (1976),[34] an examination of the media written by Paddy Chayefsky, playing an older version of the character type for which he had become iconic in the 1950s, only now more jaded and aware of his own mortality. 12 Sep. WILLIAM HOLDEN: At some point, "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) played at The Silver Screen. Just us and the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark! Norma Desmond didnt need dialogue, she can say whatever she wants with her eyes. The truth of the matter was that Bing Crosby was one of the very few actors to whom Billy Wilder had borne a grudge, mainly because Crosby had done the unthinkable during filming of The Emperor Waltz (1948), and ad-libbed dialog, something he and Bob Hope had done for years as standard operating procedure in their breezy "Road" pictures. After Salome, she planned to make another picture and another picture. Her friend George Cukor, who initially recommended her for the part, told her, "If they want you to do ten screen tests, do ten screen tests. Initially, writer-director Wilder envisioned the movie as a straightforward comedy, and the famously saucy West seemed like a perfect fit. The movie opens with a shot of a dead guy floating face down in a pool, and the dead man himself tells us that its Joe Gillis getting bloated in the chlorine. During the shopping excursion, Norma remarks that if Joe is not careful, he'll need a cutaway. No one wants to get caught by surprise anymore. It was George Cukor who suggested Gloria Swanson for the role of Norma Desmond. Sunset Boulevard DVD (2007) William Holden, Wilder (DIR) cert PG Amazing Value. The role of Norma Desmond was initially offered to Mae West (who rejected the part), Mary Pickford (Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett realized when talking to her that her image as "America's Sweetheart" made her unsuitable for the part), and Pola Negri (Billy Wilder rejected her as her thick accent would cause too many problems) before being accepted by Gloria Swanson. In 1973, Holden starred with Kay Lenz in a movie directed by Clint Eastwood called Breezy, which was considered a box-office flop. Betty and Joe fall in love after they sneak off to the studio backlot by moonlight to collaborate on a screenplay. You murdered me. To shoot Joe and Norma dancing together at her New Year's Eve party, cameraman John F. Seitz used a dance dolly---a wheeled platform attached to the camera. This was the actual set of Samson and Delilah (1949), which de Mille was making at the time. Highly unusual at the time, Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder had Joe Gillis narrate, from beyond the grave, the sad tale of the final months of his life, while the film simultaneously depicts the still living Gillis experiencing those events unaware of the fate his dead self already knows. The ocean?' This ushered in the peak years of Holden's stardom. [41], Holden was married to actress Brenda Marshall from 1941 until their divorce in 1971. David Lynch is an avid fan of the movie, having referenced it in films such as Inland Empire (2006), Mulholland Drive (2001)--which has a similar title and theme about the misfortunes of aspiring artists in Hollywood--and the television show Twin Peaks (1990), where Lynch himself played an FBI Bureau Chief named Gordon Cole. He was a genuine star. This dynamic served them well for years, each man's extreme tendencies being balanced by the other's, but during Sunset Boulevard it finally became unworkable. But Joe wouldnt have fallen so hard if he werent so shackled. Holden's films continued to struggle at the box office, however: Paris When It Sizzles (1964) with Hepburn was shot in 1962 but given a much delayed release, The 7th Dawn (1964) with Capucine and Susannah York, a romantic adventure set during the Malayan Emergency produced by Charles K. Feldman, Alvarez Kelly (1966), a Western, and The Devil's Brigade (1968). An inventory of his prospects added up to exactly zero. In 1989 the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress selected this as one of 25 landmark films of all time. [2] He had two younger brothers, Robert Westfield Beedle and Richard Porter Beedle. According to Billy Wilder, it was von Stroheim's idea to use a clip from Queen Kelly (1932) in Sunset Blvd. This promised to go the limit. "I am big. Billy Wilder's terrifying valentine to Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard (1950), features one of the most indelible of all screen performances: Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond. [28] Columbia would not meet Holden's asking price of $750,000 and 10% of the gross for The Guns of Navarone (1961); the amount of money Holden asked exceeded the combined salaries of stars Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn.[29]. Being born on 17 April 1918, William Holden was 63 years old at the time of his death. The clips in Sunset Boulevard were the first time American audiences saw it. Cecil B. DeMille: at the studio during Norma's visit. She offered Peavey 10 dollars to identify Taylors grave in the Hollywood Park Cemetery and had someone wait there in a white sheet to scare it out of him. Montgomery Clift was originally cast as the writer but dropped out two weeks before the shoot. (1954). Next image (0) (0) It was a the kind of a place crazy movie people built in the crazy 20s. (as Arthur Schmidt) William Holden returns to find that Gloria Swanson has tried to slash her wrists in 'Sunset Boulevard', directed by Billy Wilder. Also in 1969, Holden starred in director Terence Young's family film L'Arbre de Nol, co-starring Italian actress Virna Lisi and French actor Bourvil, based on the novel of the same name by Michel Bataille. For added meta-truthfulness, Wilder wanted to have that film's lead actress, Hedy Lamarr, be there too, so that DeMille could ask her to let Norma sit in her chair (you know, those behind-the-scenes chairs that have the star's name on them). Sunset Boulevard English audio Gloria Swanson, as Norma Desmond, an aging silent-film queen, and William Holden, as the struggling young screenwriter who is held in thrall by her madness,. On February 7, 1955, Holden appeared as a guest star on I Love Lucy as himself. Eugene Walter was a prolific Hollywood screenwriter of the 1920s and 1930s. At Columbia, he starred in film noirs, The Dark Past (1948), The Man from Colorado (1949) and Father Is a Bachelor (1950). As a practical joke, during the scene where William Holden and Nancy Olson kiss for the first time, Billy Wilder let them carry on for minutes without yelling "Cut!" When he drives Norma to Paramount Pictures at the studio gates, the car was pulled with a rope by off-camera grips. The "fee" for renting the Jean Paul Getty mansion was for Paramount to build the swimming pool, which features so memorably. The one on the Paramount studio soundstage; the one whose driveway William Holden ducks into at 10060 Sunset Blvd; and the one used for the exteriors, which is the one shown here. Although a registered Republican, he never involved himself in politics. This was the last major Hollywood feature film to be shot on nitrate stock. [16] Holden recalls their romance:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, Before I even met her, I had a crush on her, and after I met her, just a day later, I felt as if we were old friends, and I was rather fiercely protective of her, though not in a possessive way. April 17 marks the 100th birthday of William Holden, who is ranked No. When Norma visits DeMille at Paramount, he's in the midst of shooting Samson and Delilah, which really is what he was up to at the time. Holden's first film back from the services was Blaze of Noon (1947), an aviator picture at Paramount directed by John Farrow. But as commentator Steve Sailer points out, more than one contemporary source mentions it as an inspiration. [17], Their relationship did not last much beyond the completion of the film. The structure in the film required a tennis court, or rather the ghost of a tennis court, with faded markings and a sagging net. Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard is one of his three or four masterpieces, a seminal Hollywood black comedy-satire, which unlike most films keeps improving with the passage of time.. Benfiting from a glorious and iconic cast, the film concerns a faded silent film star, played by Gloria Swanson (in a variation of her own onscreen persona), who lives in the past with her butler (and former . but at 641 S. Irving Blvd. The actor-turned-director-turned-actor-again, who had indeed been one of the great silent-filmmakers, winced at playing a character so self-referential and demeaning, but he needed the money. After graduating from South Pasadena High School, Holden attended Pasadena Junior College, where he became involved in local radio plays. His characters were always angling for something, whether it was silk stockings in a POW Camp in Stalag 17 from 1953, which won him a Best Actor Oscar, or to clear impersonation charges in in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness. But who could play the silent film diva? . A classic film review of Sunset Boulevard (1950) starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson and Eric Von StroheimDirected by acclaimed film maker Billy Wilder (. Cecil B. DeMille appears in the film on a studio set. It was only natural that he should film several sequences on the studio's backlots. Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder and D. M. Marshman Jr. Online Film & Television Association Awards, "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." It also alludes to the fact that Pomona was one of three towns in California's Inland Empire region (Riverside and San Bernardino were the others) that were frequently used during Hollywood's Golden Age for testing preview audiences' reactions to unreleased films. In 2007 the American Film Institute ranked this as the #16 Greatest Movie of All Time. In fact, Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett even went to Pickfair to pitch the story to Pickford, but her horrified reaction as the story progressed made them stop halfway through and apologize to her. Holden was reunited with Wilder in Stalag 17 (1953), for which Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor. They stayed that way even if the pictures got small. The Tragic 1981 Death Of Sunset Boulevard Star William Holden Grunge 2.14M subscribers Subscribe 486 18K views 3 weeks ago #Actor #Hollywood #SunsetBoulevard While Actor William Holden. was voted #6 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by "Premiere" magazine in 2007. Florabel Muir, the New York Daily News Hollywood correspondent, thought Peavey was the murderer and tried to ambush him into a confession. is directed toward his associate producer, Henry Wilcoxon, who had starred in his epics Cleopatra (1934), The Crusades (1935) and Unconquered (1947), later moving to a position behind the camera as DeMille's associate, which he held until the older man's death in 1959. and was "a loner," according to Edwards, who wasn't surprised that Holden's body went so long without being discovered. Billy Wilder originally wanted another silent star, Pola Negri, to take the part of Norma Desmond. It's the *pictures* that got small. He was named one of the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" six times (19541958, 1961), and appeared as 25th on the American Film Institute's list of 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema. William Holden, original name William Franklin Beedle, Jr., (born April 17, 1918, O'Fallon, Illinois, U.S.found dead November 16, 1981, Santa Monica, California), American film star who perfected the role of the cynic who acts heroically in spite of his scorn or pessimism. [47], President Ronald Reagan released a statement: "I have a great feeling of grief. Movie audiences in the nave early days of film sometimes didnt know that somebody had to sit down and write a movie. Later he strangled himself with it. Warner (one of the four "Waxworks" at the bridge party) in The King of Kings (1927). This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 22:44. This is a reference to the now-mad Norma's final possession by the character of Salome, with whom she'd been so obsessed. Minters mother Charlotte Shelby was a manipulative stage mother who owned a rare .38 caliber pistol that fired unusual bullets very similar to ones found inside Taylor. Gloria Swanson was paid $50,000 plus $5,000 per week for any time over schedule. Eventually it wasn't Wilder who shouted "Cut!" Such extravagances were so commonplace that when Wilder was planning to shoot the funeral of Normas chimpanzee, the director told the crew to just set-up the usual monkey-funeral sequence.. Holden starred in some of Hollywood's most popular and critically acclaimed films, including Sunset Boulevard (1950), Sabrina (1954), Picnic (1955), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), The Wild Bunch (1969) and Network (1976). Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett met with Greta Garbo and tried to convince her to make a comeback in the role of Norma Desmond. The older actor prided himself on needling people and he needled the shit out of Holden on the first movie, and the second movie was worse because Holden started dating Audrey Hepburn during filming. But even to show a chair with her name on it, Lamarr wanted $10,000. The film is openly referenced in Soapdish (1991), The Player (1992), Gods and Monsters (1998), Mulholland Drive (2001), Inland Empire (2006) and Be Cool (2005) while the closing scene of Cecil B. Demented (2000) is a direct parody of the final scene of the 1950 classic. He was perfection on- and off-screen. The butler stonewalls Joe from the outside world until hes rolling up twenties tight enough snort through to deal with even the shortest withdrawal from the big empty house. Sands had forged Taylors name on checks and wrecked his car the summer before and left footprints on Taylors bed after a burglary. He was perfection on and off-screen. Holden was a bit of an anti-hero, or at least a very flawed hero. The Pharmacy was filmed only 500 feet (150 meters) from a scene in Armed and Dangerous (1986) & Falling Down (1993), The parking lot behind Rudy's Shoeshine where Joe Gillis pulls his car out of is 1751 Vine Street - about a half a block North of Hollywood Blvd (you can tell by the scene's POV of the Taft building that sits on the corner of Hollywood and Vine). I think that Sunset Boulevard was the most important film of William Holden's career. Seleccionar el departamento en el que deseas buscar. In the penultimate scene, as Max tells Norma that "the cameras have arrived," the high strings in composer Franz Waxman's Oscar-winning score quote a chord from Richard Strauss's "The Dance of the Seven Veils" from his opera "Salome". Saltar al contenido principal.com.mx. Gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, who plays herself in the movie, wrote that Billy Wilder was crazy about Evelyn Waughs book The Loved One, and the studio wanted to buy it.. Hola Elige tu direccin Pelculas y Series de TV. Perry, George & Andrew Lloyd Webber (1993). William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 - November 12, 1981) was an American actor and murderer, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. After a private screening for Hollywood dignitaries, Barbara Stanwyck knelt in front of Gloria Swanson and kissed the hem of her skirt. The finest things in the world have been written on an empty stomach, and Wilder and Brackett rewrote the story as adrama. The exteriors of Norma Desmond's home on Sunset Boulevard were filmed at 641 South Irving Boulevard. [2] His brother Robert ("Bobbie") became a U.S. Navy fighter pilot and was killed in action in World War II, over New Ireland, a Japanese-occupied island in the South Pacific. Billy Wilder was one of the ultimate Hollywood insiders and he grew with film. Normand made movies with the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle, and lived like life was one Wild Party. Strange? "I know how it's going to be," Holden said (per The Huntsville Item). Sunset Boulevard (styled in the main title on-screen as SUNSET BLVD.) Like most old things in L.A., the house has since been replaced by an office building. The Academy Award-winning actor William Holden, born William Beedle Jr., on April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Illinois, began his career with 1939s "Golden Boy," per Britannica. The moment he discovers that life could be beautiful, Norma slits her wrist with Joes razor. They had paired up in pictures since 1938. Billy Wilder was frustrated with people assuming that the ending was meant to be ambiguous and asking him what happens to Norma after the final dissolve. Boulevard du crpuscule : Amazon.com.mx: Pelculas y Series de TV. After returning from France, she shot her last Paramount films--Stage Struck (1925), The Untamed Lady (1926) and Fine Manners (1926)--at the studio's lot in Astoria, Queens, NY. [23][24] Picnic was his last film under the contract with Columbia. Since her part required her to gaze at the newsreel cameramen and "fans" (the waiting police) gathered in the foyer below, she couldn't watch where she placed her feet. Was the inspiration for Metallica's 1997 song "The Memory Remains". Erich von Stroheim, who directed Swanson in Queen Kelly (1932), plays Max the butler, who serves as the projectionist in the scene. So she lands his head on a golden tray, kissing his cold, dead lips. The only Best Picture Oscar nominee of the year to be also nominated for Original Screenplay. William Holden says his birthday is December 21st. His deal was considered one of the best ever for an actor at the time, with him receiving 10% of the gross, which earned him over $2.5 million, however, Holden stipulated that he should only receive a maximum of $50,000 per year from the film. Holman was 16 years older than him and was afraid people would think the movie was a parody of their relationship. In 1986 Nancy Olson became the last surviving member of the cast. Holden turned the tables on Lucille Ball when he appeared as a guest star on I Love Lucy at The Brown Derby. Peavey reportedly wore flashy golf clothes but didnt own golf clubs and had been arrested for social vagrancy and booked on lewd and dissolute charges just a few nights before the murder. [40], Holden had a daughter born in 1937 from his relationship with actress Eva May Hoffman. Norma Desmond was the greatest of them all. She puts on a show playing a Max Sennett bathing girl and Charlie Chaplins Tramp character, though Maxs bad timing is a little too on the nose. The mansion belonged to the second Mrs. Jean Paul Getty, who rented it on condition that if she did not like the swimming pool the studio would have to add for the film, it would cover it over and restore the original landscaping. Brackett was also a frequent collaborator with Billy Wilder, co-writing and producing a dozen movies with him (including The Lost Weekend) before Sunset Boulevard proved to be their last. Every woman was in love with him. Gloria Swanson, meanwhile, was born on March 27, 1899. Well, not a comeback, a return, a return to the millions of people who have never forgiven her for deserting the screen. The producer in the film was originally called Kaufman and was to be played by Joseph Calleia. He loves Norma so much, he even forges thousands of pages of fan mail, just to feed her delusion. The only film to be nominated for Best Actor and Actress Oscars that year. Swanson supplemented many of the costumes with her own accessories and jewelry. The two actors never worked together in another film. Free Postage. On the basis of this film and largely due to his continuing association with director Billy Wilder, Holden would reach the zenith of his career from 1950-'57. Throughout Hollywood history many film stars, and/or single films, were responsible for saving ailing studios. She was nominated for the first Academy Award in the Best Actress category. A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return. It gives them an opportunity to write really good acceptances speeches. There's a little dig in the scene when Cecil B. DeMille finds out that Paramount has been calling Norma Desmond because it wants to rent her car for "the Crosby picture." Sunset Boulevards cinematographer John Seitz said Wilder had wanted to do The Loved One, but couldnt obtain the rights. British author Evelyn Waughs satirical 1948 novel was about a failed screenwriter who lives with a silent film star and works in a cemetery. Normands career never recovered after word of her addiction leaked out and she died of tuberculosis on Feb. 23, 1930. Read more of his work here or find him on Twitter @tsokol. He made two more films with Olson: Force of Arms (1951) at Warner Bros. and Submarine Command (1951) at Paramount. He earned an Oscar nomination for "Sunset Boulevard" and won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 for his role in "Stalag 17," per IMDb. It's kind of sweet, actually. We were close friends for many years. When Joe Gillis and Norma Desmond watch one of Norma's old silent movies, they are watching a scene from Queen Kelly (1932), starring a young Gloria Swanson. Norma goes to visit Cecil B. DeMille, several of whose films Swanson had starred in. Swanson agreed to the audition, and won the role. [10] RKO borrowed him for Rachel and the Stranger (1948) with Robert Mitchum and Loretta Young. [5][6], Next he starred with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in the Warner Bros. gangster epic Invisible Stripes (1939), billed below Raft and above Bogart.
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